Live updates: Canada will fight back against U.S. tariffs, Mark Carney says

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10:05 p.m.

Canada, Mexico spared from worst of Trump’s latest tariff blitz

– Mark Rendell and Nojoud Al Mallees

While U.S. President Donald Trump took a sledgehammer to the global trading system on Wednesday, he offered a reprieve to Canada and Mexico, potentially putting his neighbours at a competitive advantage if they stay within the bounds of the continental trade agreement.

In his most sweeping protectionist measures yet, Mr. Trump placed a 10-per-cent baseline tariff on imports into the U.S., with considerably higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners including the European Union, China and Japan.

Canada and Mexico, however, will not face the baseline tariff or a higher country-specific duty. Both remain subject to the across-the-board tariffs imposed in early March, ostensibly to force Ottawa and Mexico City to address border security problems. However, goods that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will remain exempt.

That means a significant portion of Canadian and Mexican goods will continue to trade tariff-free, while other countries face a steep jump in duties. In effect, Mr. Trump is forcing more North American trade to happen under the auspices of the USMCA, while making it prohibitively expensive for companies to export non-compliant goods to the U.S.

9:45 p.m.

Opinion: Donald Trump’s tariff game show live from the Rose Garden

– Shannon Proudfoot

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Has anyone considered just getting him another game show?

Think about it: guaranteed audience; breathless anticipation of the next plot twist; a stage on which he can play the smiting hand of God or magnanimous benefactor, depending on his whim; a teaser campaign in the week before the big reveal; even a team in charge of set dressing and extras casting.

I really think a game show might be what he wants, deep down.

On what he had dubbed Liberation Day – Wednesday to everyone with less imagination – U.S. President Donald Trump stood at a podium in the White House Rose Garden, with huge American flags fluttering from the portico behind him and an adoring audience of auto-parts assemblers, construction workers, union members and reflective-vest wearers, arrayed like a phalanx of Playmobil figurines before him.

Everyone was gathered for what Mr. Trump described modestly as “one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history.” Or, for the rest of the world – and certainly Canada and Mexico – the day they found out how many walls of their house the neighbour who’d lost his marbles was about to smash through with his car.

This time, Canada was relatively spared, though the 25-per-cent tariffs on automobiles and goods not covered by the U.S.-Canada-Mexico free-trade agreement will be plenty punishing.

And tomorrow or next week or three months from now, he could change his mind and lob something even worse than that.

If someone doesn’t give this sad, hungry man with a hole right through the middle of him a game show, none of us are getting off the spinning wheel of insanity to which we’ve all been strapped.

9:35 p.m.

No reprieve for auto industry under Trump’s tariff plan

– Eric Atkins

Canada broadly averted additional levies in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Wednesday launch of global trade actions, but the auto sector saw no reprieve as planned tariffs kick in Thursday.

That leaves the Canadian auto industry braced for likely disruption, layoffs and possible production cuts as the tariffs are applied to vehicles sent to the U.S., according to industry experts.

Mr. Trump announced the auto tariffs last week and made them the centrepiece of his White House press conference on Wednesday as he unveiled sweeping levies on a long list of trading partners.

The tariffs on Canadian-made autos will be reduced based on their U.S.-made content. Most of the vehicles assembled at Ontario’s plants have about 50-per-cent U.S. content. The tariffs are paid by the U.S. importers of autos – the carmakers themselves – and it is expected they will pass on the costs to consumers, driving inflation and slowing the economy. The U.S. also plans to apply a tariff to auto parts entering the U.S. as early as May 3.

9:10 p.m.

Canadian steel and aluminum suffer Trump’s ire

– Niall McGee

Much of Canada’s mining sector is breathing easier, after U.S. President Donald Trump largely spared it from new reciprocal tariffs, while the domestic steel and aluminum industries continue to face his wrath.

Mr. Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order that will levy 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian imports that aren’t compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Energy, potash and U.S. classified critical minerals imports that don’t comply will be subject to a 10-per-cent levy. Non-USMCA-compliant goods, however, represent only a small proportion of Canada’s trade with its biggest trading partner.

For most Canadian goods that are USMCA-compliant, Mr. Trump didn’t impose any new import tariffs, effectively sparing broad swaths of the Canadian economy for now, including the mining sector.

“The sky didn’t fall today,” Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association of Canada, said in an interview.

“I think the new administration has started to understand better how interconnected we are.”

9 p.m.

Asia wakes up to Trump’s fresh tariffs

– James Griffiths

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Countries across Asia are waking up Thursday to news of economic disruption and potential devastation, as governments digest the stringent new tariffs announced by Washington overnight.

Among major U.S. trading partners in the region hit by President Donald Trump’s new “Liberation Day” measures, the worst hit were Vietnam and Cambodia, with levies of 46 and 49 per cent, respectively. Both countries had benefited from a drive towards “friendshoring” in recent years, as U.S. companies sought to move manufacturing out of China and into markets seen as closer to Washington. Officials in the Trump administration had criticized this arrangement, however, seeing it as a way for Chinese companies to avoid U.S. tariffs.

South Korea and Japan, Washington’s two closest allies in Asia, were hit with tariffs of 25 and 24 per cent, respectively, on top of existing levies targeting the automobile industry which were already threatening to damage both economies. In Seoul, acting President Han Duck-soo on Thursday ordered emergency measures to support businesses hit by the new levies, warning “the global trade war has become a reality.”

8:50 p.m.

Buffalo residents protest in support of northern neighbours

– Greg Mercer

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Shortly after Donald Trump announced details of his global tariffs on Wednesday, a few hundred Americans gathered in the pouring rain on a pedestrian bridge in Buffalo and sang their northern neighbours’ national anthem.

The protest, held in the shadow of the Peace Bridge that connects the two countries, was meant to send a message to both Washington and to Canadians across the river – an affirmation that not all Americans support Mr. Trump’s economic and rhetorical attacks on Canada.

“We are in opposition to the tariffs. We think they’re disrespectful to our longest standing, steadfast allies, friends and near neighbours. We’re appalled by the talk of annexing Canada. We respect that Canada is a sovereign nation. We love you just the way you are,” said organizer Kate Powers, who was wearing a red Canada ball cap.

The tariffs, and Canadian backlash to them, are a major issue in Western New York. In 2024, Canadian visitors spent nearly US$933-million in the Buffalo Niagara region, including US$398-million on retail, according to tourism-research company Longwoods International.

U.S. travel boycotts are already being felt here. The duty-free shop was nearly empty and there were only a handful of cars crossing into the U.S. at the Peace Bridge, normally one of the busiest crossings in the country.

Dozens of people at the protest waved Canadian flags and held placards that solicited honks from the vehicles passing below on the 190 expressway. They chanted, listened to speeches and sang. A group of protesters also gathered along the shoreline in Fort Erie, on the Canadian side, waving flags in response.“We hope they could hear us,” Ms. Powers said.

8:19 p.m.

What market strategists are saying about today’s tariffs announcement

– Darcy Keith

Markets are selling off more heavily as investors digest today’s tariffs announcement, with Dow futures off by about 1,000 points and S&P 500 futures off by 3.4 per cent. That suggests Thursday could see a very significant sell-off in North American markets when regular trading resumes.

Here’s what some market strategists are saying:

Royce Mendes, managing director and head of macro strategy at Desjardins Capital Markets:

“After being hit hard earlier in the year, Canada and Mexico have seemingly received at least some short term advantages over other trading partners.

Despite the reprieve given to the two North American economies, this is a very significant structural shift in policy. The US effective tariff rate could be headed to its highest level in a century. US financial markets are clearly concerned about the magnitude and scope of today’s announcement. Furthermore, there remain unresolved trade irritants with both Canada and Mexico that may be hard to overcome. Markets may, however, cling on to the hope that today’s announcement is just the starting point for bilateral negotiations with individual trading partners and tariff rates will fall if foreign trade barriers decline. Whether or not that theory proves true will be key to the trajectory of markets in the coming weeks.”

Adam Hetts, global head of multiasset, Janus Henderson Investors:

“Eye-watering tariffs on a country-by-country basis scream negotiation tactic, which will keep markets on edge for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, this means there’s substantial room for lower tariffs from here, albeit with a 10% baseline in place. We’ve seen the administration have a surprisingly high tolerance for market pain, now the big question is how much tolerance it has for true economic pain as negotiations unfold. Meanwhile, the S&P 500’s rebound after a good ADP jobs report earlier today was a reminder that the broader economy is still the focus. This week’s ISM services and nonfarm payrolls data will bear extra scrutiny, as any material weakness here will fan recession fears.”

With reports from Reuters

8:05 p.m.

U.S. Senate votes to block Trump’s Canadian tariffs in rebuke to his trade agenda

– Kathryn Blaze Baum

A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators voted in favour of ending the state of emergency that allows the Trump administration to unilaterally impose tariffs on Canadian goods, arguing that the White House overreached by targeting its northern neighbour.

The vote is the most significant Republican rebuke of the Trump administration’s second term, with four Republicans – Kentucky senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, as well as Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine – breaking rank. The vote passed 51 to 48. The win is largely symbolic because it’s unlikely to have any practical effect in Congress. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has pledged not to intervene in Mr. Trump’s tariff agenda, and the president has veto power that can only be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber. The fate of the resolution was unclear until votes were tallied late Wednesday evening.

Still, Democrats took the success as a victory that sends a clear message to the White House.

The resolution, which was introduced by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, was a key test of the willingness of members of the Republican party to stand against Mr. Trump’s invocation of emergency powers to impose tariffs, which are a central pillar of the president’s America First trade policy. Just hours before the vote, on what the White House declared Liberation Day, Mr. Trump signed a sweeping executive order stating that existing tariffs related to the U.S.-declared fentanyl emergency would remain in place for Canada and Mexico, with no levies on goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement. Non-compliant products will continue to be taxed at 25 per cent, with a lower 10-per-cent rate on energy and potash. If the fentanyl emergency is cancelled at some point, the tariff on non-compliant goods will fall to 12 per cent.

Early Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump warned Republican senators against voting with the Democrats. In a social media post, he singled out the four Republicans who had indicated they would support the resolution or were considering it. He wrote that he hoped they would “get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy.”

7:40 p.m.

B.C. cabinet minister says province will continue to reduce trade reliance on U.S.

- Justine Hunter

Ravi Kahlon, a lead B.C. cabinet minister on the trade file, said his province will continue to work to reduce its reliance on the United States for trade.

“We cannot allow ourselves to be in this vulnerable situation again, to be reliant on our U.S. partners. The relationship has fundamentally changed,” he said.

The B.C. Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs told reporters in Victoria that the province won’t take unilateral action on retaliatory measures, but he expects the federal government will announce a plan shortly.

“We will support a Team Canada effort. We have shared with the federal government what we believe are fair reciprocal tariffs that will have minimal impact on British Columbia, but will have an impact on the U.S. They have that information, and the Prime Minister will be making some information available very soon.”

7:25 p.m.

U.S. oil and gas industry praises exemption from today’s reciprocal tariffs

- Emma Graney

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents all segments of the U.S. oil and gas industry, welcomed the Trump administration’s decision to exclude oil and natural gas from the new reciprocal tariffs.

Mike Sommers, the president and chief executive of the lobby group, said in a statement that the move underscores the complexity of integrated global energy markets and the importance of the United States’ role as a net energy exporter.

“We will continue working with the Trump administration on trade policies that support American energy dominance,” Mr. Sommers said.

7:10 p.m.

U.S. tariff announcement an ‘important win for Canada,’ Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says

- Emma Graney, Carrie Tait

With the U.S. appearing to uphold the majority of its free-trade agreement with Canada, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called Wednesday’s announcement an “important win for Canada” and the province, and said that “the worst of the tariff dispute is behind us.”

Ms. Smith, who has taken heat for recent appearances with right-wing influencers Breitbart News Saturday and Ben Shapiro in the U.S., previously defended those appearances as her way of influencing U.S. decision-makers and people who have Mr. Trump’s ear. She has made a string of appearances on Fox News and travelled to Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s resort in Florida, ahead of his inauguration.

“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. Administration for months. It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including 0% tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and [a] host of other Canadian goods,” she said in a statement.

Ms. Smith acknowledged that there is still work to be done – particularly around automobiles, steel and aluminum – and said the efforts of premiers and the federal government should shift toward removing or significantly reducing tariffs on those products.

7:00 p.m.

Canada will fight back against U.S. tariffs, PM Carney says

- Robert Fife

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Canada will fight with “purpose and force” against the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday evening, warning that the levies will harm the global economy and affect millions of Canadians and Americans.

Mr. Carney, who plans to talk to the provincial and territorial premiers Thursday, made only a brief statement after he entered a cabinet committee meeting on Canada-U.S. relations. He promised retaliatory tariffs but did not say what they would entail.

But he said the U.S. tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum will create economic hardship and warned that the Trump administration is also expected to target Canadian lumber, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

“The series of measures will directly affect millions of Canadians. We are going to fight the tariffs with countermeasures. We are going to protect our workers and we are going to build the strongest economy in the G7,” he told reporters. “In a crisis it is important to come together and it is essential to act with purpose and force.”

Mr. Carney, who is running in the federal election as Liberal Leader, paused his campaign to hold meetings about the U.S. tariffs.

6:45 p.m.

USMCA shows its worth

- Mark Rendell

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From Canada’s perspective, the big news today is that exports to the U.S. that comply with USMCA rules – excluding specific sectors that have been targeted, such as autos and steel and aluminum – will continue to trade tariff-free under the continental free-trade agreement. That’s a major win for the Canadian economy.

Last year, only 38 per cent of Canadian products heading into the U.S. were stamped USMCA compliant. However, a much larger proportion of Canadian trade could theoretically comply with the rules of origin spelled out in the continental trade agreement. That puts Canada and Mexico in a relatively good position compared with other countries that are now facing a 10-per-cent baseline tariff or higher rates. Here’s an explainer on what USMCA compliance means, and why more trade was not happening under the agreement previously.

The U.S. also gave Canada and Mexico more lenient treatment when it comes to auto tariffs. Cars made in both countries will still face a 25-per-cent tariff, as of Thursday. However, they won’t face tariffs on the portion of vehicles that are made up of U.S. auto parts. On average, Canadian-made cars include around 50 per cent U.S. components.

6:25 p.m.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford cautiously optimistic after Canada evades latest round of Trump tariffs

- Jeff Gray

Ontario Premier Doug Ford reacted cautiously to Donald Trump’s announcement on tariffs, speaking to reporters before it became clear that Canada had in fact dodged the U.S. President’s threatened so-called reciprocal duties.

“The positive thing that I saw was we weren’t on that list,” Mr. Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park. “Let’s hope that there’s some positive news coming.”

Mr. Ford, who has met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, took some credit for the apparent exemption. (However, he acknowledged that Mr. Lutnick had not provided a promised heads-up about the tariffs.)

“In business and in government, you have to build a relationship,” Mr. Ford said. “I believe we have built it.”

The Ford government also cancelled a press conference planned for Thursday morning where the Premier, his Finance Minister and Economic Development Minister were expected to detail Ontario’s tariff response.

6:10 p.m.

U.S.-Canada border crossing quiet on tariff announcement day

- Pippa Norman

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Just after noon on Wednesday, sales at the On the Run convenience store on the way to the Pacific Highway Border Crossing in Surrey, B.C., were about a third lower than usual.

Arjun Kamra, who owns the franchise with his wife, said yesterday he had to take a different road to work because of trucks backed up along 176 Street, leading to the border.

But on the day of President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, business was nearly non-existent, with few customers apart from regulars.

“All my work I’ve already done, back end is already done, which normally I finish around 6 in the evening,” he said.

At the Pacific Border RV Park, manager Arsh Samra said it was similarly quiet, in contrast to Tuesday, when backed-up truck traffic made it difficult for guests to enter the park.

Mr. Samra said it seemed like everyone was trying to get their shipments across before the tariffs hit. Now, they’re waiting to see how it all plays out.

Back at the gas station, Canadian and B.C. flags fly proudly above a sign that says the station is Canadian-owned and operated. Mr. Kamra said he removed a U.S. flag after the initial tariff announcements.

“Because the customers, they were not happy, right? So we wanted to support our country,” he said.

5:45 p.m.

U.S. stocks down after Trump speech, Canadian dollar firmly up

- Darcy Keith

U.S. stock and ETF futures, as well as currency markets, were extremely volatile during Donald Trump’s tariff unveiling, reflecting continued uncertainty around the tariff rates and implementation.

At 5 p.m. ET, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF was down just over 2 per cent, although it initially swung higher at the start of Mr. Trump’s presentation. The Canadian dollar swung wildly up and down, but is now firmly higher upon confirmation that Canada and Mexico will not be subject to reciprocal tariffs for now. It was last quoted at 70.20 US cents, up about a third of a cent from prior to the Rose Garden announcement.

Bond yields have been falling, with the U.S. two-year yield declining to 3.834 per cent, the lowest since March 11. That reflects traders boosting bets that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in June and deliver a total of three quarter-point reductions to the policy rate by October, as tariffs act as a drag on the economy. Short-term interest-rate futures now reflect about a 70-per-cent chance of a Fed rate cut when the U.S. central bank meets in June, up from about 60 per cent before the tariffs were announced. Before the announcement, the contracts showed traders felt the Fed would deliver a total of three rate cuts by December.

5:30 p.m.

Canadian goods compliant with USMCA exempt from reciprocal U.S. tariffs, other items face levies up to 25%

- Nathan VanderKlippe

The U.S. will exempt some elements of North American trade from a 10-per-cent baseline tariff that will take effect Wednesday night on most of its international trading partners, and will impose higher levies on goods from countries such as China and Vietnam.

A sweeping executive order signed by Mr. Trump on Wednesday orders existing tariffs related to a U.S.-declared fentanyl emergency to remain in place for Canada and Mexico, with no levies on goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement. Non-compliant products will continue to be taxed at 25 per cent, with a lower 10-per-cent rate on energy and potash.

If the fentanyl emergency is cancelled, the tariff on non-compliant goods will fall to 12 per cent.

But other products will continue to see higher tariff rates, including aluminum, steel, and vehicles. A 25-per-cent levy “on all foreign-made automobiles” will come into effect at midnight Wednesday, Mr. Trump said. He did not specify any exemption for vehicles made in Canada, or elsewhere in North America.

5:20 p.m.

EU to respond to Trump’s 20-per-cent tariff announcement, European Commission president says

- Paul Waldie

The European Union says it plans to respond Thursday to Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will impose a 20-per-cent tariff on imports from the EU.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will make a statement in the morning, officials said. On Tuesday, she vowed that the EU would retaliate.

“Europe has not started this confrontation. We do not necessarily want to retaliate, but if it is necessary we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it,” Ms. von der Leyen told the European Parliament.

“Europe holds a lot of cards, from trade to technology to the size of our market,” she added. “But this strength is also built on our readiness to take firm countermeasures if necessary.”

4:45 p.m.

Trump announces reciprocal tariffs on countries, no word on Canada

- Nathan VanderKlippe

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During his White House speech, Donald Trump held up a sign listing the tariff rates the U.S. will impose on a host of trading partners. He said the U.S. will place tariffs of:

• 34 per cent on China
• 20 per cent on the European Union
• 46 per cent on Vietnam
• 32 per cent on Taiwan
• 24 per cent on Japan
• 26 per cent on India
• 25 per cent on South Korea
• 36 per cent on Thailand
• 31 per cent on Switzerland
• 32 per cent on Indonesia
• 24 per cent on Malaysia
• 49 per cent on Cambodia
• 17 per cent on Israel

The sign did not appear to include Canada.

A minimum baseline tariff of 10 per cent “will be on other countries to help build our country and to prevent cheating,” he said.“If you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America,” he added.

But Mr. Trump accused Canada of imposing hefty tariffs on American dairy products, in addition to criticizing barriers to the export of U.S. poultry to the European Union, beef to Australia and rice to China.

“When you look a little bit, it’s not a pretty picture,” he said.

4:25 p.m.

U.S. to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on ‘all foreign-made automobiles’

- Nathan VanderKlippe

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The U.S. will impose a 25-per-cent levy “on all foreign-made automobiles” at midnight, Donald Trump said today in announcing a series of reciprocal tariffs at the White House.

Mr. Trump did not immediately say whether that tariff would grant any exemption for vehicles made in Canada or elsewhere in North America.

But he pointed to high tariffs in South Korea and Japan as particular problems for the U.S.

He called the imposition of sweeping tariffs on foreign goods “our declaration of economic independence,” while decrying past trade policies that, he said, damaged the country.

Americans, he said, have “watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once-beautiful American dream.”

He accused Canada of imposing hefty tariffs on American dairy products, in addition to criticizing barriers to the export of U.S. poultry to the European Union, beef to Australia and rice to China.

“When you look a little bit, it’s not a pretty picture,” he said.

He made no distinction between countries that have been traditional allies of the U.S.

“In many cases the friend is worse than the foe in terms of trade,” he said. ”But such horrendous imbalances have devastated our industrial base and put our national security at risk.”

4:20 p.m.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announces $10-million in new funding to support farmers

- Temur Durrani

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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is providing additional funding for farmers and producers to counter the threat of tariffs from the U.S. and China.

Speaking to reporters at the Maple Leaf Foods centre in Brandon, Man., Mr. Kinew announced $10-million in new funding to top up the $140-million set aside in the provincial budget last month as part of a contingency plan.

He called the new funding “a start,” saying the province will continue to add more should the trade war escalate.

“We want to deliver on a very simple promise,” he said, standing before a giant Canadian flag. “That your jobs are going to be here today, that your jobs are going to be here tomorrow, and your jobs will continue to be here long after Donald Trump leaves office.”

4:00 p.m.

U.S. increasing supply of domestic uranium, but critics warn tariffs on Canadian product could undermine energy security

- Matthew McClearn

The U.S. government’s efforts to have America supply more of its own uranium are off to a promising start – as long as you don’t look closely.

In a commentary released Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration declared that domestic uranium production last year reached its highest levels in six years, thanks largely to increased production at three facilities, including the White Mesa Mill in Utah.

The broader picture, though, is that U.S. uranium production remains dramatically lower than in the mid-2010s. For 2023 (the most recent year for which detailed reporting is available) the EIA noted that of the 51.6 million pounds of uranium oxide purchased by U.S. utilities as fuel their power reactors, 27 per cent came from Canada and 22 per cent from each of Austria and Kazakhstan. American sources accounted for just 5 per cent of U.S. deliveries that year.

In February, U.S. President Donald Trump established the National Energy Dominance Council to advise him on increasing production and distribution of “all forms of American energy.”

Observers, though, have warned that tariffs on Canadian uranium could undermine U.S. energy security and increase electricity rates paid by American consumers.

3:55 p.m.

Some Republicans fear a damaged economy will hand next election to Democrats

- Nathan VanderKlippe

Among Republicans outside Washington, the prospect of sweeping tariffs against their country’s most important trading partners has begun to raise concerns that if Mr. Trump is not careful, he could not merely damage the U.S. economy but destroy their party’s future grip on power.

If Mr. Trump ”is truly pushing tariffs for their own sake, and plans to go with this long-term, I think it jeopardizes, honestly, all the good he’s done in his presidency,” said Matt Rinaldi, a senior Republican in Texas who has chaired that state’s party apparatus.

“JD Vance will be the next president if Trump comes out with a good economy. It will be a Democrat president if Trump goes with a bad economy,” he said.

Mr. Rinaldi does not believe Mr. Trump intends to keep the trade measures in place permanently; instead, he sees them as a negotiating tactic intended to drive down barriers to the movement of U.S. goods into Canada and other countries.

For now, conservatives in the U.S. are giving Mr. Trump “the benefit of the doubt that this is exerting leverage on Canada to get a better free trade deal between both of the countries,” he said. But “everybody is in wait-and-see mode.”

3:25 p.m.

What’s the potential economic impact of Trump’s trade war?

- Mark Rendell

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Trying to guess the economic impact of Donald Trump’s trade war is something of a fool’s errand. He has imposed tariffs, lifted them, then threatened more without providing details. With the trade policy of the world’s largest economy changing by the day, it’s hard to say where this is all going.

That doesn’t mean economists aren’t running models. A Bank of Canada estimate from February suggested that a full-blown trade war, where the U.S. imposes sweeping tariffs on trading partners who then retaliate, could cause an 8.5-per-cent drop in Canadian exports, a 12-per-cent decline in business investment and a 2-per-cent drop in consumer spending. That would lower Canadian output by 3 per cent compared with a non-tariff scenario over the next two years, putting the economy in a shallow recession. Bay Street estimates have been roughly in the same ballpark.

Running models and forecasting aren’t the same. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said last month that the bank may publish several forecasts in its April Monetary Policy Report, rather than a central scenario, given the “broader than usual range of possible outcomes.”

It’s fair to say a prolonged trade war would be a “stagflation” shock. Tariffs and retaliation would weigh on economic growth and increase unemployment, but also push up consumer prices. That’s bad news for Canadians and tough for the central bank to navigate.

3:05 p.m.

Car sales in Canada rise as trade war escalates

- Eric Atkins

Canadians are rushing to car dealerships as the tariff war escalates. Consultancy DesRosiers Automotive says an estimated 185,000 vehicles were sold in March, an 11-per-cent increase over the same month last year.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has threatened to hit the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs that might drive up the price of U.S.-made automobiles.

Some car buyers are not waiting to find out.

DesRosiers says March’s sales were the highest for that month since 2018 and, if the rush continues, will put seasonally adjusted annual sales at just over two million.

U.S. tariffs of 25 per cent on imported cars will begin April 3. Canadian-made vehicles will be taxed at a lower rate, based on their U.S. content, and similar tariffs on auto parts are expected soon. That’s all on top of U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel – raw material for car parts - and goods that fall outside the continental free trade agreement.

Chris Murray of ATB Capital Markets recently told The Globe and Mail that the price of a car in Canada could go up by as much as $5,000 once all the layers and countermeasures are added in.

3:00 p.m.

Fentanyl coming into the U.S. from Canada an ‘invented emergency’, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine says

- Kathryn Blaze Baum

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U.S. Senator Tim Kaine’s argument to terminate the fentanyl emergency that the Trump administration declared at the northern border can be summed up like so: It’s an “invented emergency.”

That’s what he told his colleagues on the Senate floor Wednesday, speaking ahead of a vote in the Republican-majority chamber to end the state of emergency.

He said the mechanism the White House used to unilaterally impose tariffs and bypass Congress - the declaration of a state of emergency that unlocks sweeping executive powers, including the ability to introduce import taxes - is based on a false premise.

“Is fentanyl a problem? Yes. Is it an emergency? Yes,” he said. “But fentanyl is not a Canadian emergency … [It’s] an invented emergency.”

Mr. Kaine pointed out that more than 21,000 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the southern border with Mexico last fiscal year; at the northern border, 43 pounds.

“There’s a new report that’s just coming out as I’m speaking on the floor from The Globe and Mail, saying even these estimates are high,” Mr. Kaine said. He was referring to new data, released to The Globe through freedom-of-information laws, that shows that only about one-tenth of 1 per cent of fentanyl seizures at the northern border have actually been positively attributed to Canada by the U.S. border agency.

2:30 p.m.

Canadian and U.S. stocks advance ahead of tariff announcement

– Reuters

U.S. stock indexes maintained gains in afternoon trading, rebounding from morning declines.

At 1:55 p.m. ET, the S&P 500 had risen 27.29 points, or 0.48 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite had gained 138.13 points, or 0.79 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 141.60 points, or 0.34 per cent.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index also advanced in afternoon trading, gaining 130 points, or just over 0.5%, as of 2:37 p.m. ET.

Tesla jumped 5.4 per cent, reversing early declines after Politico reported that Trump has told members of his Cabinet and other close contacts that his billionaire ally Elon Musk will soon step back from his government role.

In early trade, Tesla fell as much as 6.4 per cent after the EV maker reported a 13 per cent drop in first-quarter deliveries. Its advances also helped the consumer discretionary index to a 2.1 per cent increase, making it the best performing of the 11 S&P sectors.

Among other Magnificent Seven names, Amazon.com rose 2.3 per cent after The New York Times reported it was bidding for short video platform TikTok.

2:25 p.m.

Canadian workers ‘need strong leadership’ in face of tariffs, Canadian Labour Congress says

- Emily Haws

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Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske called the April election an “absolute turning point” for Canadian workers and said they want to know politicians have their backs amidst the uncertainty of tariffs.

“Our message to all politicians is clear, this is not the time for austerity,” she said. “Canadian workers need strong leadership. We need a real plan that stands up for workers, that protects our jobs, that safeguards our livelihoods and our communities.”

While she said she supports the Liberal and NDP approach to put any counter-tariff revenues back into supports for workers, she has not heard the same approach from the Conservatives.

The CLC is made up of 51 different unions and it will not endorse anyone during this election campaign, Ms. Bruske said. She added that the CLC is in touch with U.S. labour counterparts.

2:15 p.m.

What economic impact have tariffs had so far?

- Mark Rendell

It’s too early to see much of the impact of the tariffs in the hard data. However, surveys that capture consumer and business sentiment on both sides of the border suggest that uncertainty created by Donald Trump’s trade war is weighing on economic activity.

A Bank of Canada survey in February found that consumers are becoming worried about their jobs and trimming spending plans while companies are putting a freeze on hiring and large investments. The Conference Board of Canada’s index of consumer confidence fell to a record low in the first half of March. South of the border, the March U.S. Conference Board survey of consumer confidence saw future expectations sink to the worst level in 12 years.

“It’s peak uncertainty right now,” Jean-François Perrault, chief economist at Bank of Nova Scotia, said in an interview on Tuesday, noting that consumers and businesses are holding off on big purchases or investments “until they know what the rules of the game are.”

One area we can see a direct impact is in the trade data. Canadian exports to the U.S jumped 7.5 per cent to a record high in January, as companies raced to get ahead of the impending tariffs. That front-loading will boost Canadian GDP numbers in the near-term, but suggest a slump is coming in Q2.

2:05 p.m.

Amid tariff backlash, Canada’s two major airlines are reporting steep drops in bookings for U.S. flights

- Eric Atkins

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Air Canada said as of mid-March, the airline industry’s transborder bookings for the next six months are down by 10 per cent, year over year, and by a similar amount at the airline itself. Calgary-based WestJet Airlines’ cross-border seat sales are down by 25 per cent, year to date, spokesman Josh Yeats says.

OAG, a U.K.-based aviation data company, last week said in a report that seat sales between Canada and the U.S. are down by 70 per cent in every month between April and September, compared with the same period a year ago. OAG said Canadian airlines are removing capacity or flights amid the drop in demand, but not yet at a pace that matches the plunge in seat bookings.

More than 320,000 seats have been removed by airlines flying to the U.S. from Canada through the end of October. The cuts are deepest – 3.5 per cent - in the peak travel season of July and August, OAG said.

However, Air Canada and WestJet Airlines said the OAG figures do not match their own.

“While we have experienced a softening in the transborder market – and have shifted a limited amount of capacity to adapt to it as previously announced – the decline Air Canada has experienced is not by any means of the magnitude cited” by OAG, Air Canada said in a statement.

WestJet’s Mr. Yeats said customers are switching to destinations other than the U.S.

1:36 p.m.

U.K. prepared to drop tax that multinationals pay

– Paul Waldie

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There have been reports in Britain that the government is prepared to reduce or eliminate its digital services tax in return for lower U.S. tariffs.

The DST was introduced in 2020 to tackle tax avoidance by multinational corporations. It was designed to make big tech companies that aren’t headquartered in the U.K. – such as Meta, Amazon and Apple – pay taxes on the revenues they generate from their British users. The tax applies to companies that have more than £500-million ($929-million) in global revenue and generate more than £25-million in the U.K.

The rate was set at 2 per cent and pulls in some £800-million a year for the government.

One option under consideration, according to The Guardian, is for the tax to be lowered and broadened to include more companies from other countries, which could address arguments from the White House that the tax applies mainly to U.S. firms.

1:20 p.m.

No instructions sent to border yet, so tariffs can’t be enforced, says U.S. lawyer

– Nathan VanderKlippe

The United States has not yet given any indication that it will impose its promised 25-per cent tariff on most Canadian goods, even though a month-long suspension of that tariff expires today.

But the April 2 date for reinstating the 25-per-cent fentanyl-related tariff was “never actually put in any of the documents,” said Dan Ujczo, an international trade lawyer who is senior counsel at Thompson Hine in Columbus, Ohio.

“Everybody has been operating on April 2” as an assumption of when those tariffs would come back into place, he said. “But nobody really knows what that means.”

To enforce tariffs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issues instructions through its Cargo Systems Messaging Service. As of midday Wednesday, no such instruction had been issued, he said.

Until such a notice is received, “parties can continue to claim the USMCA treatment,” which ensures free trade for most goods traded in North America, Mr. Ujczo said.

12:58 p.m.

U.S. offering ‘good economic agreement’ with U.K., says Chancellor

– Paul Waldie

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has told a parliamentary committee that the government will not “rush into any response” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

“We are going to approach this in a clear-headed way,” she told MPs on the House of Commons Treasury Committee. Ms. Reeves said she met with major British exporters Wednesday and they agreed that they “don’t want the government to rush into any response.”

“The prize on offer is a good economic agreement between us and the United States. We won’t do anything to put that in jeopardy. We’re not going to rush into action to get a quick headline. We are focused on doing what is right for our country, businesses operating here and working people here.”

12:23 p.m.

New fentanyl data shows Canada’s minor impact on U.S. drug crisis

– Kathryn Blaze Baum and Mahima Singh

Barely more than one-10th of 1 per cent of fentanyl seizures at the northern border have been positively attributed to Canada by the United States border agency, according to new data released to The Globe and Mail.

The figures reveal that border officials track the origin of the drugs they seize in what they call the northern border region. In fiscal 2024, the data show that 99.87 per cent of the fentanyl they recovered was linked to either Mexico or the United States, or had unknown origins. Fentanyl identified as coming from Canada amounted to 0.74 pounds – or 0.13 per cent. The data exclude seizures still under investigation, including at least one case U.S. authorities have connected to Canada.

The figures call into question the Trump administration’s basis for declaring a national emergency over fentanyl “pouring” across the northern border, which unlocked special powers to unilaterally impose tariffs on Canadian goods, and whether the information was communicated to the White House. It also casts yet more doubt on the degree to which Canadian fentanyl is a culprit in the U.S. toxic drug crisis.

In justifying the tariffs, the White House has repeatedly cited U.S. Customs and Border Protection data to assert that 43 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the northern border last fiscal year, accusing Canada of being responsible for a “massive 2050% increase” compared with the year prior.

12:23 p.m.

How the NDP says it’ll handle the trade war

– The Canadian Press

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party has a plan to safeguard Canada from Donald Trump’s trade war as the U.S. President prepares to roll out new tariffs.

Speaking in Winnipeg today, Mr. Singh cited previously announced NDP proposals such as increasing EI payments, building an east-to-west electricity grid and putting money collected through retaliatory tariffs into affected sectors such as steel and auto manufacturing.

He has also previously made affordability promises in his tariff plan, such as removing the GST on “essentials” like home heating, premade grocery store meals and children’s clothes, capping grocery prices on staples and expanding health programs such as dental care.

12:18 p.m.

Doug Ford says ‘let’s get back to a USCA deal’

– Jeff Gray

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is sticking to his position that Mexico should be excluded from any trade talks between Canada and the U.S., even as Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and says his preference is for a trilateral renegotiation of the continental free trade deal.

Since last November, Mr. Ford has repeatedly accused Mexico of being a “back door” for Chinese products, something some in the U.S. auto industry and the Trump administration have raised concerns about.

In his appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Wednesday, Mr. Ford repeated his frequent talking point about Mexico, saying Canada should enter into talks on a U.S-Canada deal, instead of the existing United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

“I think we need to sit down and let’s get back to a ‘USCA’ deal, instead of a USMCA deal, because Mexico’s bringing in cheap parts from China, slapping on a made-in-Mexico sticker and costing American and Canadian jobs.”

11:41 a.m.

Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer: Tariffs are a ‘financial gut punch’ for families

– Nathan VanderKlippe

Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” amounts to “a sledgehammer to the American economy,” Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said.

Mr. Schumer, the Senate minority leader, issued a sweeping indictment of Trump’s reciprocal tariff plans, saying they could add thousands of dollars to the cost of living for the average American family.

“With the flick of a pen, Donald Trump is set to unleash the most reckless tsunami of tariffs Americans have seen in over half a century,” Mr. Schumer said. ”Prices will rise on virtually every kind of product.”

He called the trade measures “a financial gut punch” for families.

Mr. Schumer is among the Democrats backing a resolution to cancel the national emergency declaration issued by the White House as the basis for 25-per-cent tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico.

It remains unclear whether that resolution will pass the Senate. On Wednesday, one of its potential Republican backers, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, said he would not support it.

“I’m going to vote no,” he told news website Semafor. “Partly because it’s not just a trade issue and partly I see it as nothing but to bring up something to obstruct what Trump’s doing on tariffs to get attention away from that.”

11:03 a.m.

Poilievre on why he hasn’t built relations with Trump

– Steven Chase

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he has not tried to build relations with the Trump White House because he believes in the rule of “one Prime Minister at a time.” He was also asked if he has enlisted the help of Conservative candidate Jamil Jivani, a friend of Vice-President JD Vance, but did not say.

11:00 a.m.

Remind me, what’s a tariff again?

– Globe staff

A tariff is a fee, similar to a tax, that a government charges to a domestic importer for bringing foreign goods into the country’s market. Tariffs are usually placed on certain categories of products, such as dairy or aluminum, to protect a domestic industry.

That’s because a tariff makes it harder for foreign players to compete, making their products more expensive and less attractive than domestic ones, since importers may have to pass on the extra costs to consumers by raising prices.

Tariffs are usually expressed as a percentage of a product’s value. So, for example, if the U.S. were to impose a 25-per-cent tariff on steel, an American importer who wants to bring in US$1-million worth of steel will have to pay US$250,000 to the U.S. government.

The importer may ask the Canadian steel producer to lower their prices and absorb some of the tariff, but a significant portion of the levy would be passed on to steel-consuming industries, such as manufacturers of power tools, who could in turn raise their retail prices, ultimately passing on the burden of the tariff to consumers.

10:53 a.m.

Doug Ford makes case against tariffs on U.S. cable news

– Jeff Gray and Laura Stone

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has regularly taken to U.S. media to make his case against Donald Trump’s tariffs, was at it again Wednesday morning.

On CNBC’s Squawk Box, he was asked whether Canada would remove all its “original tariffs,” an apparent reference to trade irritants the Trump administration has identified, such as the supply management system for dairy products.

Mr. Ford appeared to misinterpret the question, answering that Canada would – but clearly referring only to Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs.

Speaking to Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s The Situation Room, Mr. Ford repeated his assertion that tariffs will make life more expensive for Americans by driving up the cost of houses, autos and pharmaceuticals.

“These tariffs are nothing but a tax on Americans,” Mr. Ford said. “President Trump calls it ‘Liberation Day.’ I call it ‘Termination Day’ because a lot of people are going to be terminated from their jobs.”

He said the tariffs are already wreaking economic havoc on North America.

“Consumer confidence is down. Investment is stalled. Inflation is happening. The markets are tumbling and they’re going to tumble today,” he said.

10:49 a.m.

What we know so far about the ‘reciprocal’ tariff plan

– Mark Rendell

The “reciprocal” tariffs to be announced this afternoon are supposed to be the centrepiece of Donald Trump’s “America First” trade agenda and apply to all countries. The plan, however, remains hazy.

U.S. media reported Tuesday evening that the Trump administration was still debating whether to proceed with a flat-rate tariff on all trading partners, a tiered system that would put countries in various categories or a country-by-country system.

Mr. Trump and his officials had previously suggested they favoured a country-by-country approach, with the goal of matching tariffs and trade barriers that other countries place on U.S. goods.

A key question is how the administration would come up with a number that supposedly corresponds to other countries’ trade barriers. Officials have said they will include both tariffs and non-tariff grievances.

In Canada’s case, the average tariff rate on U.S. goods is less than 2 per cent. But U.S. officials have suggested they will include the federal goods and services tax, digital services tax and Canada’s supply-management system when determining a reciprocal rate for Canada. All this could be an academic exercise if the administration proceeds with a flat rate.

10:39 a.m.

What tariffs are already in place?

– Mark Rendell

1. Blanket tariffs on Canada and Mexico: On March 4, the U.S. put 25-per-cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, with a 10-per-cent levy for energy products, critical minerals and potash – ostensibly to push both countries to address fentanyl trafficking and illegal migration. Two days later, President Donald Trump exempted products that enter the U.S. in compliance with the continental free trade agreement. This means many, but not all, products will continue to cross the borders tariff-free or at a low tariff rate for now. Mr. Trump said the reprieve would last for one month, although there is no end date in his executive order and the future of the exemption is unclear.
2. Steel and aluminum: The U.S has placed 25-per-cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which apply to both the raw material and finished metal products such as cans and barbecue grills.
3. Lumber: Since 2017, the U.S. has imposed countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber. These duties currently stand at around 14.5 per cent but are set to double by the end of the year. Mr. Trump has launched an investigation that could see additional tariffs placed on Canadian forestry products.
4. Auto tariffs (almost): Mr. Trump announced last week that he would place 25-per-cent tariffs on cars, light trucks and many auto parts, starting April 3. Canada and Mexico are being treated slightly more leniently. Cars produced in compliance with the continental free trade agreement will only be hit with tariffs on the value of the non-U.S. components. Auto parts from Canada and Mexico will continue to trade tariff-free while Washington develops a plan for calculating U.S. content.

10:33 a.m.

How Canadian are American cars?

– Matthew McClearn

Canada plays a crucial role in manufacturing for the U.S. auto industry, but data about parts and components are categorized as “Canada-U.S.,” making it difficult to tell what is made where.

No car is an island

Data published by the U.S. government list roughly 360

vehicles for sale from the 2025 model year. Every single one

contains some proportion of its components (by value)

originating outside North America, varying from one-fifth

to the entire vehicle. President Donald Trump argues the

decline in U.S.-manufactured vehicles “jeopardizes our

domestic industrial base and national security.”

Per cent content of select cars:

U.S./Canada

Japan

S. Korea

Mexico

Other countries

Germany

25%

55%

20%

Lexus RX 350

Final assembly: Canada, Japan

45%

55%

Honda Civic

(four door)

Final assembly: Canada

60%

15%

25%

Honda CR-V

(FW drive)

Final assembly: Canada

45%

55%

Ford F150

Final assembly: U.S.

80%

15%

5%

Kia EV6

Final assembly: U.S.

33%

19%

7%

41%

Volkswagen

Jetta GLI

(auto. trans.)

Final assembly: Mexico

Matt Mcclearn and john sopinski/the globe and mail

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

photos: manufacturers

No car is an island

Data published by the U.S. government list roughly 360

vehicles for sale from the 2025 model year. Every single one

contains some proportion of its components (by value)

originating outside North America, varying from one-fifth

to the entire vehicle. President Donald Trump argues the

decline in U.S.-manufactured vehicles “jeopardizes our

domestic industrial base and national security.”

Per cent content of select cars:

U.S./Canada

Japan

S. Korea

Mexico

Other countries

Germany

25%

55%

20%

Lexus RX 350

Final assembly: Canada, Japan

45%

55%

Honda Civic

(four door)

Final assembly: Canada

60%

15%

25%

Honda CR-V

(FW drive)

Final assembly: Canada

45%

55%

Ford F150

Final assembly: U.S.

80%

15%

5%

Kia EV6

Final assembly: U.S.

33%

19%

7%

41%

Volkswagen

Jetta GLI

(auto. trans.)

Final assembly: Mexico

Matt Mcclearn and john sopinski/the globe and mail

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

photos: manufacturers

No car is an island

Data published by the U.S. government list roughly 360 vehicles for sale from the 2025 model year. Every single one contains some proportion of its components (by value) originating outside North America, varying from one-fifth to the entire vehicle. President Donald Trump argues the decline in U.S.-manufactured vehicles “jeopardizes our domestic industrial base and national security.”

Per cent content of select cars:

U.S./Canada

Japan

S. Korea

Mexico

Germany

Other countries

55%

25%

20%

Lexus RX 350

Final assembly: Canada, Japan

55%

45%

Honda Civic

(four door)

Final assembly: Canada

60%

15%

25%

Honda CR-V

(FW drive)

Final assembly: Canada

45%

55%

Ford F150

Final assembly: U.S.

5%

80%

15%

Kia EV6

Final assembly: U.S.

33%

7%

19%

41%

Volkswagen

Jetta GLI

(auto. trans.)

Final assembly: Mexico

Matt Mcclearn and john sopinski/the globe and mail

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration photos: manufacturers

U.S. President Donald Trump announced 25-per-cent tariffs on auto imports on March 26 but stipulated that they may not be applied to the whole value a vehicle. For vehicles qualifying for preferential treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce may decide to apply the tariff solely to their non-U.S. content.

But there’s a big catch: If U.S. Customs and Border Protection determines that the importer’s declared value of non-U.S. content is inaccurate, a 25-per-cent tariff will be applied to the whole vehicle.

10:08 a.m.

Poilievre says Canada should impose retaliatory tariffs

– Steven Chase

Pierre Poilievre tells a Toronto crowd Wednesday morning that Canada’s immediate response to Donald Trump’s tariffs must be retaliatory levies and government support to protect jobs threatened by Washington.

The Conservative Leader said that if he were to become prime minister he would propose to Mr. Trump that both sides pause tariffs and launch an early renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is up for renewal in 2026.

He said a red line in future trade talks would include supply management and control over Canadian natural resources and water.

And he said he would demand that Mr. Trump stop the flow of illegal guns into Canada from the United States.

10:03 a.m.

Do Senate Dems have enough votes to end Trump’s national emergency?

- Nathan VanderKlippe

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Do Senate Democrats have enough votes to pass a resolution today ending Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration for fentanyl from Canada?

Mr. Trump seems to believe they do.

The Democrats need just four Republican votes to pass the resolution, which would dismiss the basis for Mr. Trump’s 25-per-cent tariffs on most goods from Canada, with a 10-per-cent levy on energy products and potash.

Early Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump posted to social media a strong condemnation of four Republican senators — Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Rand Paul — saying they “will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy.”

Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Collins and Mr. Paul have all indicated they will support the resolution.

Mr. McConnell’s office declined comment Wednesday morning, telling The Globe and Mail it would provide further information at a later time.

But Mr. Trump’s post to Truth Social suggests Mr. McConnell, who in the past has demonstrated a willingness to challenge the President, is prepared to support the resolution.

Its passage would mark a condemnation of Mr. Trump’s policies from those within his own party, a day after voters in Wisconsin rejected a state Supreme Court candidate backed by the White House and its most active fundraiser, billionaire Elon Musk.

It remains unlikely, however, that the resolution — even if it passes the Senate — will achieve anything. The House of Representatives has made it difficult for such a resolution to receive a hearing, and the President can veto any legislation without two-thirds support.

Republican supporters of the resolution, Mr. Trump argued in his post, “are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats and Drug Cartels. The Senate Bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans, namely these four, in that it is not going anywhere because the House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it.”

9:55 a.m.

Carney to hold meetings with business and labour leaders

– Robert Fife

Prime Minister Mark Carney will hold a virtual meeting at 3 p.m. of the Council on Canada-U.S. Relations, which comprises business and labour leaders and prominent Canadians. They have been advising the federal government on how to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war against Canada.

At 5:30 p.m., Mr. Carney will chair a meeting of the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. Relations and National Security. The cabinet will decide what countermeasures Ottawa will impose on the United States.

Two members of the advisory council — David MacNaughton, Canada’s former envoy to Washington, and Senator Hassan Yussuff, a former Canadian Labour Congress president – have told The Globe and Mail that Ottawa won’t impose retaliatory tariffs on most U.S. food and other basic necessities, which could drive up the cost of living for Canadians, or on components that are essential to avoiding job losses in key sectors of the economy.

In Winnipeg Tuesday, Mr. Carney reiterated what he told Mr. Trump last Friday, that “we will put in place some retaliatory measures if there are additional measures put against Canada.”

Mr. Carney also spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Tuesday about how to fight the trade war and ways to increase trade between Canada and Mexico.

9:49 a.m.

What has Canada already placed retaliatory tariffs on?

– Mark Rendell

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Canada has retaliated by placing its own tariffs on some $60-billion worth of U.S. goods, in two tranches.

In response to the March 4 blanket tariffs, Canada imposed 25-per-cent tariffs on around $30-billion worth of U.S. goods, including orange juice, alcohol, appliances, clothing and motorcycles, among other products. Ottawa said it would add tariffs to another $125-billion worth of goods in 21 days if the U.S. did not reverse course. The Canadian government paused this second threat after Mr. Trump granted the temporary exemption for USMCA-compliant goods, but the initial tariffs on $30-billion worth of goods remain in place.

Canada then imposed 25-per-cent tariffs on an additional $29.8-billion worth of U.S. goods in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs. These levies mostly apply dollar for dollar to U.S. metal products, but also hit other goods including tools, computers and servers, display monitors and sports equipment.

Provincial and municipal governments have responded in their own ways, including removing alcohol from liquor store shelves and changing procurement policies to penalize U.S. companies, among other measures.

9:30 a.m.

The impact for Northern Ireland

– Paul Waldie

U.S. tariffs will complicate life for a lot of companies around the world but spare a thought for businesses in Northern Ireland where Brexit adds another layer of complexity.

Because of Brexit and the Irish border, Northern Ireland exists in a kind of alternative universe, tied to both the European Union and Britain.

Under a post-Brexit deal struck between London and Brussels, Northern Ireland adheres to EU regulations for goods moving back and forth with Ireland, an EU member. The province follows U.K. rules for everything moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain.

Things get tricky if the U.S. imposes tariffs on the EU but not the U.K. Or if the EU retaliates with counter tariffs but the U.K. does not.

Northern Ireland companies bringing in goods from the U.S. will have to keep track of where the goods are headed — to Ireland or the U.K. —to know what tariff applies. And exporters to the U.S. will have to make sure American customs officers understand where the goods originated — in the U.K. or the EU.

For now, no one in the U.K. is sure how all this will work.

9:24 a.m.

On the ground in London

– Paul Waldie

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Paul Waldie here from London. I’m The Globe’s Europe correspondent and I’m watching the very different strategies Britain and the European Union have been employing in their response to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

British officials are hoping that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s quiet diplomacy will shield the U.K. from the worst of Mr. Trump’s tariffs and lead to a trade deal. Downing Street has not announced plans for retaliatory tariffs and Mr. Starmer has promised a “calm approach.” He has also been keen to point out that the U.S. has a trade surplus with the U.K.

Brussels has been far more assertive. “Europe holds a lot of cards,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Tuesday. She added that the EU has “a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it.”

Apr. 1

Canada promises retaliatory tariffs in response to any U.S. levies

- Nathan VanderKlippe, Nojoud Al Mallees and Emma Graney

Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised retaliatory tariffs in response to any U.S. levies that target Canada on April 2, a message that he delivered after a phone call with Mr. Trump last week.

Mr. Carney, running as Liberal Leader in the April 28 federal election, has previously noted that the federal government has developed another round of potential tariffs that could target as much as $125-billion worth of American goods.

Canada and the United States have agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations on a new economic and security relationship following next month’s election.